Tried my first pumpkin spice ale

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ThreeTaps

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Decided to buy a sixer while at the store, since I'm about to brew a batch soon. It was delicious. I'm surprised thay had it this early.

Now I can brew that batch in confidence that I'll like the outcome.
 
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Personally I did not care for dogfish head's punkin...I didn't get much pumpkin flavor or spice character at all...taste like a standard brown ale to me...shipyard is good but needs more body. I have also tried this brand, my thunderstruck is in secondary right now, let's hope she meets the qualifications!
 
OK, I was at Albertson's today and I saw "America's Original" Pumpkin Ale. It's been a while since I've had this so i decided to pick up a sixer to refresh my taste buds. I must say it definitely has more body than some of the other pumpkin beer's I have had. Comparing it to Shipyard, I'd say It comes a little shy. Shipyard has that sweet pumpkin flavor compared to this which is more authentic. My only complaint with shipyard's is it's Body. I would purchase this beer again, however I would prefer others on the market.


 
I just took a sample taste, and it's not as good as I was hoping, it's really too dry. I think I should have masted it a little hotter. I wasn't expecting it to turn out so dark when I was mashing. The color (colour) all came from some unmalted oats I toasted in the broiler. Anyway it might be good after priming it with maple syrup. A week ago I thought I way over did the nutmeg and it was bitter trash, but that mellowed out.
 
Personally I did not care for dogfish head's punkin...I didn't get much pumpkin flavor or spice character at all...taste like a standard brown ale to me...shipyard is good but needs more body. I have also tried this brand, my thunderstruck is in secondary right now, let's hope she meets the qualifications!

+1 I'm a huge DFH fan, but the Punkin just didn't do it for me. Seemed like a dry amber ale, where I was expecting something with more body and at least a hint of pumpkin and spice. Didn't taste bad, but not what I expected.

OTOH, my Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale came out fabulous! If you are interested in brewing a batch, that's my suggestion.
 
Glad I'm not the only one that didn't obsess over dogfish punkin...I thought it was good but it didnt meet my expectations...I'll be kegging a batch of thunderstruck today for a friend but it will be immature by about a week! Should be interesting to taste compared to mine pitched with my Burton yeast!
 
WHAT. YOU GUYS ARE ALL INSANE DFH PUNKIN IS THE BESSSSSSSSSSST.

Just kidding, but I do like that one.

In September, I bought all the pumpkin beers that I could find locally, and I think I ended up with about 8? There was some good ones, but oh were there some bad ones.

I thought that Pumpkinhead tasted despicable. I got a hint of cloves, with nothing else, except for a cornchip bite at the end. Similar description applies to Wolaver's Pumpkin for me.

My favorites were DFH punkin, Cottonwood pumpkin, and Ichabod ale. I still have a few that I haven't tried, including weyerbacher imperial pumpkin and a Post Road pumpkin. I REALLY wish that I had access to pumpking, because that one is apparently fantastic.
 
Pumking is good especially if you like vanilla flavoring. I actually like the Weyerbacher better though for an Imperial pumpkin.

My favorite standard commercial pumpkin beer though is Smuttynose Pumpkin. Very good pumpkin flavor without overdoing the spices (especially cloves like Brooklyn's Post Road does). I'll have to admit I'm pretty found of the DFH Punkin too. I actually found Shipyard to be barely drinkable the last time I had it.
 
+1 I'm a huge DFH fan, but the Punkin just didn't do it for me. Seemed like a dry amber ale, where I was expecting something with more body and at least a hint of pumpkin and spice. Didn't taste bad, but not what I expected.

OTOH, my Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale came out fabulous! If you are interested in brewing a batch, that's my suggestion.

What spicing method did you use for your thunderstruck? did you steep or add to boil?
 
Southern Tier Pumking is something special - it tastes like liquid pumpkin. It is pretty sweet though, which not everyone may like. I wonder what they use to give it the flavor it has - lactose maybe?
 
Pumking is good especially if you like vanilla flavoring. I actually like the Weyerbacher better though for an Imperial pumpkin.

My favorite standard commercial pumpkin beer though is Smuttynose Pumpkin. Very good pumpkin flavor without overdoing the spices (especially cloves like Brooklyn's Post Road does). I'll have to admit I'm pretty found of the DFH Punkin too. I actually found Shipyard to be barely drinkable the last time I had it.

How dare you! Haha just kiding I guess this goes to show how different peoples tastes are. I like other DFH Beers but as far as having a good pumpkin profile I don't think the punkin falls into this category...more of a dark amber or light brown
 
I think the there is more disagreement about pumpkin beers than any other style. Some people absolutely hate every one and can't have more than a sip. Others love them.

I love Punkin' and Pumpking. Had a pumpkin lager recently that I hated, but forget the name.

Here's a good review of a bunch of them from serious eats: The Best Pumpkin Ales

I'm giving Jamil's pumpkin spice recipe from Brewing Classic Styles a shot this weekend. With some modifications of course:mug:
 
I'm giving Jamil's pumpkin spice recipe from Brewing Classic Styles a shot this weekend. With some modifications of course:mug:

If you want to use lots of real pumpkin the best way I found using fresh sugar pumpkins was as follows:
Seed and stem pumpkin (skin on is fine)
Slice very thin
dump into stock pot with 1" of boiling water on the bottom
Cover and let it cook (stir it every few min)
Once it is soft (15-30 min) mash it down and run it though a screen trying to get all the juice out
Use this juice for mash water, and first sparge water (if not all).

This is much quicker that baking it, and can give you something to do during mash rests. It adds a little sugar to the beer, but this really varies from pumpkin to pumpkin. From what I've read there really is almost no starch in them, so there is no point adding meat to the mash (unless you really like a stuck sparge)
 
I noticed too that the supermarkets are rolling out the Pumpkin Ales. I really cant recall if Ive had a pumpkin ale, so whats the best? Id like to find a good one if Im going to be spending the money on a seasonal brew. I remember when I picked up Sam Adams Winter brew and boy I thought it was awful.
 
I noticed too that the supermarkets are rolling out the Pumpkin Ales. I really cant recall if Ive had a pumpkin ale, so whats the best? Id like to find a good one if Im going to be spending the money on a seasonal brew. I remember when I picked up Sam Adams Winter brew and boy I thought it was awful.

I couldn't agree more on the Sam, I really like their Boston Lager, and hate everything else they have ever made (I don't know why I keep trying them). Choosing a pumpkin for your self a matter of taste. I like the DFH a lot, but would take a 90min over a pumpkin any day. The only you'll know is if you try them...
 
If you want to use lots of real pumpkin the best way I found using fresh sugar pumpkins was as follows:
Seed and stem pumpkin (skin on is fine)
Slice very thin
dump into stock pot with 1" of boiling water on the bottom
Cover and let it cook (stir it every few min)
Once it is soft (15-30 min) mash it down and run it though a screen trying to get all the juice out
Use this juice for mash water, and first sparge water (if not all).

This is much quicker that baking it, and can give you something to do during mash rests. It adds a little sugar to the beer, but this really varies from pumpkin to pumpkin. From what I've read there really is almost no starch in them, so there is no point adding meat to the mash (unless you really like a stuck sparge)

Perhaps the pumpkin in the mash imparts a flavor profile that one couldn't get by just adding the juice.
 
I like their Cherry Wheat and on occasion Ive been in the mood for their Summer Ale, but that Winter Lager or whatever was just hard to get through. I ended up dumping the rest of the six pack just to save the bottles lol
 
I couldn't get into the summer wheat...In all Honesty it tasted like medicine.
 
Perhaps the pumpkin in the mash imparts a flavor profile that one couldn't get by just adding the juice.

That is possible, I can't say for sure how the methods compare. The juice has quite a lot of flavor, and I wouldn't think that one would get much (if any) more from pumpkin in the mash. A side by side test would be nice, but I'm not panning another pumpkin brew till fall 2011. One thing that makes it difficult to compare is you can use the juice from many more pumpkins that you could fit in a mash (unless your grain bill is 75% rice hulls).
 
I tried that "Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale" a couple weeks ago, made by Pyramid if you check the bottle. It wasn't to shabby, I did like the Sam Adams Pumpkin Ale a little better. Kinda disappointing to hear about the DFH punkin getting such negative reviews, that was next on the list. I plan on making a Pumpkin ale in time for thanksgiving. Are there any extract recipes out there? If not I was gonna get the kit from NB and add extra extra pumpkins. Any suggestions?

Also, winter lager is definitely the slowest selling Sam Adams Seasonal on tap at our bar, the worst of the seasonals IMO. Enjoy the Oktoberfest while it lasts.
 
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